I don't mean to change the subject here, but I got a reply from Mr. Karpyshyn regarding a matter I brought up earlier in the thread:

Quote:

Dear Mr. Karpyshyn,

I finished you novel, Star Wars: Revan recently, and I fell in love with it. I loved how you brought the familiar characters to life in new, fresh ways, yet kept them true to their KOTOR counterparts.

I did have one question, however: Why is it that neither of Revan's real names are revealed? (I say "neither" because I find it reasonable to assume that Revan had a birth name--which he used up until adopting the moniker of "the Revanchist," followed by "Revan," and then "Darth Revan"--and that the Jedi Council programed an entirely new name and identity into him following his capture that was different from his birth name.) Why is it that Revan has adopted "Revan" as his identity when the dialogue choices from the light side path in the game make it clear that he rejects that name ("But I'm not Revan; I'm X!)? I find it odd that, after rejecting such a name, being closely tied with the Dark Lord of the Sith, that Revan would embrace it immediately after. Did he have a change of heart?

Further, when all of Revan's memories came flooding back to him once he received his mask from Meetra, why did not his birth name register? Or at least why was there no mention of it?

I just find it a bit odd that Revan was not given a canonical name. While I can understand that the reason behind it might be that it wouldn't sit well with readers who have played the game and had their own perceptions of Revan in mind (even though the new MMO gives him a canonical face), it seems a bit inconstant that the Exile--who shares the same level of customization--was given a name.

Please don't understand this as nitpicking, or as a challenge to you. I love your stories and I loved the book; I'm simply curious is all.

Besides this, I want you to know that I adored your Bane trilogy as well. I also started reading one of your Mass Effect novels (another favorite franchise of mine), but misplaced it; but what I read of it was excellent.

Keep up the good work!

Sincerely,
John

Quote:

Hey, John. (Call me Drew, by the way.)

Thanks for the e-mail; it's always good to hear from someone who enjoys my
work. Glad you liked the Revan novel.

As for his name, it's a complicated issue but I'll do my best to explain
it. From a character level, I see Revan as he exists in the post-KOTOR
universe as being a man who has reconciled all his various pasts into a
new sense of self-identity - it makes sense to me that he would go by
Revan, and I wanted to convey that to the readers. Mentioning his previous
names would undermine that slightly.

But there is also a marketing/fan awareness on my part. Mentioning the
name Revan used after he was brain wiped by the Jedi wouldn't serve much
purpose, and all it would do is draw attention to the fact that the name I
used was different than the name players used in KOTOR.

His original name could be given, but honestly I knew that no matter what
name I gave him, there would be fans who were disappointed. I didn't feel
like it gave any tangible benefits to the story or character, and so I
decided the cost wasn't worth it.

To be honest, I would have done the same with Meetra/the Exile if she had
been given an actual name in KOTOR2. But I tried writing the book only
referring to her as "the Exile" and it felt very jarring and weird. Also,
I don't think she had the same fundamental identity crisis that Revan did
- her experience wasn't about losing memories and having them restored. So
I copped out and gave her a name... and then got dozens of e-mails from
angry fans telling me the name sucked. Oh well.

As for Revan's memories, when they came flooding back he probably did
remember his old name, but it wasn't relevant to the story or what he was
dealing with at the time, so it wasn't something he focused on.